With superhero Dreadnought falling dead in front of her, Danny inherits his powers and is gifted with her most desired thing: the body of her dreams. No longer having to masquerade as a boy, Danny must figure out how to come out as transgender, while defending the world from Dreadnought’s murderer, Utopia.

Why this book?: Simple. #OwnVoices, Transgender SUPERHEROES. THIS IS THE BOOK OF MY DREAMS???

I would like to thank the people at Diversion Publishing for allowing me to have an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Amazing, relatable characters

In Dreadnought, Danny Tozer is often confronted with situations that make her reconsider her opinions and stances on things, which scare and confuse her. The way she reacted was so hard hitting, because I know that some people would probably be thinking “why isn’t she standing up for herself? She’s freaking Dreadnought.” And that’s really the point. To showcase how growing up in a situation such as this can affect you.

Something I truly appreciated about this book was that it frequently delved into people’s insecurities. Everyone has insecurities, and adding in something as such a prominent feature that people usually ignore was such a good addition.

The world building was a little weird, making it sound like it was a fantasy USS or sci-fi, while it still mentioned places like Washington and other well-known places. I barely noticed this however, because I was so focused on what was happening, and the characters.

Transgender representation

This book definitely hit it head on when it came to representation. Not only is Danny trans, but her best friend is Latina, AND it deals with much more than that. It deals with abusive households, and transphobic parents/co-workers. It deals with sexism and how it can affect people. Dreadnought touched on a multitude of problems that needed to be spoken about, all in a single fantasy novel.

The writing was flawless, and the fight scenes were so immersive that I found myself staying up well past what was healthy just to get past them. At first I thought the plotting was a little off, but the slow build-up and Danny learning her powers throughout this slow build-up really highlighted her growth as a person and as a superhero.

(As a last mention, although it isn’t mentioned much in the book, but Danny is also a lesbian! Just adding that to her being transgender makes this one of my top books of 2016.)

Final Rating: ★★★★★

Overall?

The representation was on point, as well as the story and characters. I loved the writing, and will be eagerly looking forward the Sovereign, the next book in the Nemesis series.

Would I Recommend?

If you’re looking for a emotional rollercoaster, along with transgender representation, a Latina superhero, and much more amazingness, yes. Just please, read this book, not because of the superheroes, but because of the meaning behind all of it.

Additional Information:

Published: Janurary 24th, 2017

Publisher: Diversion Publishing

Page Count: 276

Genre: Fantasy/YA

Synopsis: via Goodreads

Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of the world’s greatest superhero. Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, she was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But then her second-hand superpowers transformed her body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl.

It should be the happiest time of her life, but between her father’s dangerous obsession with curing her girlhood, her best friend suddenly acting like he’s entitled to date her, and the classmate who is secretly a masked vigilante, Danny’s first weeks living in a body that fits her are more difficult and complicated than she could have imagined.

She doesn’t have much time to adjust. Dreadnought’s murderer, a cyborg named Utopia, still haunts the streets of New Port City. If Danny can’t sort through the confusion of coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia in time, humanity faces extinction.